William Blake}}}s Comic Vision [Hardcover]

Blake's comic brilliance has been variously dismissed as the nervous ramblings of a neglected genius, the tomfool doodles of a distracted youngster, or a crude tool for destabilizing textual authority. But, for the eighteenth century, comedy played a pivotal role in debates on aesthetics, education, spirituality and morality. This exciting new study blends a close reading of Blake's early work with fascinating historical research to demonstrate that the comic was an essential component of Blake's artistic Vision.Preface Abbreviations Songs on Pleasant Glee: William Blake and the Comic Mirth at the Errors of a Foe: The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Comic World Playing the Fool: Blake's Sense of Humour I Love the Jocund Dance: The Comic in the Poetical Sketches and Tiriel Talking of Virtuous Cats: An Island in the Moon To Sing the Sweet Chorus of Ha, Ha, He: The Songs of Innocence and of Experience A Vision of the Last Judgement: The Comic in Blake's Designs And to Conclude: A Fool Sees Not the Same Tree a Wise Man Sees Appendix Notes Bibliography IndexNick Rawlinson is Lecturer in English at Queen Mary and Westfield College at the University of London.